Kankichi Ryotsu (両津勘吉)
, often affectionately called , is the main male protagonist/antagonist of the long-running Japanese manga and anime series Kochikame by Osamu Akimoto. He is appointed as the Chief Patrol Officer of the Kameari Kouen-Mae Police Box. Appearance Ryoutsu is a middle-aged man of a rather short but robust stature, who sports a crew-cut hairstyle and noticeably thick bouts of body hair, plus visible stubble. His similarly extra thick and curvy 'm'-shaped unibrow is his most famed asset, and serves as the signature image associated with Kochikame in general due to its uniqueness and familiarity with local Japanese fans. While on duty, he is always depicted wearing his blue police officer uniform, i.e. blue pants and coat which cover his white buttoned shirt underneath, plus black tie. Unlike most other police officers from the series who wear the same uniform as he, Ryotsu keeps his sleeves rolled up to just above the forearm, similar in fashion to Honda. He also has the tendency to favour wearing wooden sandals (called 'geta') whilst at work, but is able to run at rather tenaciously fast speeds with them on (which may, or may not be, the reason as to why he does not wear black shoes). In his spare time, Ryotsu commonly wears shirts and long pants when out with the others. Holiday episodes set in summer or beach holiday spots usually have him wearing an island shirt with shorts, sunglasses and sandals. When in the midst of intense physical work, he appears to favour wearing white sleeveless tops and jeans or trousers, and may sometimes choose to go shirtless. Personality Ryotsu tends to adopt a rather lazy state of disinterest while on duty at the Police Box; instead of putting effort into his patrol or office duties, he is often seen resorting to creating plastic models (puramo), playing with toys and video games or sleeping on the job instead. It is usually while he is in the middle of any of these activities, however, that Bucho catches him off-guard and consecutively scolds him for disobeying orders. He shows larger preferences for indulging in leisure activities inclusive of Pachinko, gambling, plastic model construction, video gaming and visiting cabaret clubs, especially whilst on patrol duty. But his largest desire above all is for money, and will go to great extents just to earn big cash by investing in on potentially profiting fads and scams just for his benefit. Almost all of these, in the end, are never able to reach a pleasant conclusion. There will always be some form of major damage or tarnished reputation of the police force. There are times when Roytsu shows great in-depth knowledge and understanding of current fads or situations in the business, sports, culture, or leisure industry, and can sometimes go into deep discussions with colleagues Nakagawa and Reiko regarding these subjects. The topics always cover modern trends and fads in line with current real-life trends and fads, inclusive of smartphone apps and Playstation games in recent manga volumes. Ryotsu is especially knowledgeable in topics relative to the Japanese lifestyle he was raised in, which contrast the more globally-experienced perspectives of Nakagawa and Reiko. Ryotsu is unable to speak any other language other than Japanese, and seems to show little concern over this. He understands only little bits of broken English, particularly where speaking foreign characters are concerned. He does, however, make occasional mentions of typical English conversational phrases such as 'thank you' and 'no problem' in both the manga and anime to other characters. Reliance is put onto both Nakagawa and Reiko for translating between languages. Relationships Family 'Ginji' Main article: Ginji Ryotsu Ryotsu has a very strained relationship with his father. Both are extremely prone to fighting, despite their very similar personality traits and mannerisms. He also resembles his father the most, in comparison to his mother, sharing his body type, hairstyle and facial features (excluding the monobrow). 'Yone' Main article: Yone Ryotsu Ryotsu appears to get on better terms with his mother than his father. She can become strict in cases where her son doesn't listen, but on the whole only wishes for him to do good and act with discipline or sensibility at the very least. She is also having to always control the fights that occur between her husband and son, and as a result is viewed as the voice of reason in the family, given her more even-tempered nature and ability to make more just decisions. 'Ginjirou' Main article: Ginjirou Ryotsu Little is known about the relationship between Ryotsu and his younger brother Ginji. But it is apparent that Ginji shows more respectful behaviour than his older brother, due to his above-average intelligence and success as a businessman, successes which are considered rare for a member of the Ryotsu family. Unlike his older brother, he is married and receives a more steady income. Police Box Colleagues 'Nakagawa' Main article: Keiichi Nakagawa Ryotsu generally maintains a good friendship with Nakagawa both during and outside of work. He can often be seen in discussion with him over a particular topic, and tends to offer his own thoughts in-line with his own cultural Japanese background that contrasts Nakagawa's more global perspectives. His plans for inappropriate or potentially dangerous schemes are always met with opposition from Nakagawa. At times, he vents his anger onto him for being in some way more fairly treated than he is, given his more rich and prosperous background which contrasts Ryotsu's own, as he was brought up poor and with less world knowledge. On the other hand, Ryotsu is glad to have Nakagawa help him fulfill materialistic aspects of a scheme by receiving assistance from the Nakagawa Corporation. There are instances where Ryotsu is successful in showing Nakagawa's vulnerable 'insane' side, by persuading him to drink or pulling jokes to make him laugh uncontrollably. 'Reiko' Main article: Reiko Katherine Akimoto Ryotsu appears to work well with Reiko; she most often can be seen offering him tea while he is in the midst of work or play, and talking to him over the topic of interest or matter at stake. Unlike Nakagawa, Reiko is able to provide Ryotsu with information from a female perspective, particularly where relationsips with women or feminine activities are sometimes concerned. Their gender differences have also been the butt of several jokes, usually with mild sexual implications; Ryotsu's involuntary moments of nudity are met with extreme shock and revulsion from Reiko (most apparent in the anime), whilst Reiko's occasional partial nudity or vulnerability fully nude causes a degree of wonder and wishful thinking of a 'surprise' encounter by Ryotsu (most apparent in the manga). 'Bucho' Main article: Daijiro Ohara Ryotsu and Bucho are notorious for their consistently strained relationship with one another in the series throughout. Bucho is most famous for his yells of Baka Mon! (バカモン), roughly translated as "You Idiot!", when he discovers Ryotsu disobeying orders and deviating from his police work. Ryotsu is always willing to take risks in doing other activities despite the chances of him being discovered again, much to the frustration and constant anger of Bucho. It is suggested that the two share a sort of father-son type of relationship in spite of their turbulent times together. Bucho sincerely only wants for Ryotsu to be better disciplined and hard-working in his job, partly to prevent him from tarnishing his reputation as the Head of the Police Box. He also cares for Ryotsu, and truly believes that he is capable of making the Police Box a success, although he tends to keep these feelings suppressed to maintain his image. Bucho takes immense pride in Ryotsu during times where the latter is successful in battling a crime or doing good for society, and can sometimes be moved to tears out of emotional moments. Katsushika Police HQ colleagues 'Honda' Main article: Hayato Honda Ryotsu is often seen alongside Honda during both in and out of work shifts, outside of the Police Box. The two appear to have a good friendship, as Honda is understanding of Ryotsu and seems to support him a lot, although he is also less likely to strongly oppose Ryotsu's more dangerous ideas given his sensitive nature. Honda is also of extra help to Ryotsu, as he is able to transport him anywhere on his motorbike. In his normal persona, Honda addresses Ryotsu as senpai (先輩), whereas his 'tranformed' motorcycle persona addresses him as Ryotsu no Danna (両津のダンナ). Ryotsu is sometimes fed up with the indecisive and cowardly nature of Honda, and may resort to either venting his anger onto him or simply ignoring him to carry out whatever he wishes, causing much worry in the former. 'Maria' Main article: Ai Asato Ryotsu initally became infatuated with the deceivingly attractive attibutes of Maria, prior to finding out that she was male. Since the discovery, Ryotsu began to act more emotionally distant from her, but doesn't show dislike towards her. He does appear to agitate in moments where he is hugged by Maria without warning. 'Matoi' Main article: Matoi Giboshi '' Ryotsu had initially shown much interest in Matoi following her debut in the manga series, given her tomboyish personality and interests which seemed to match Ryotsu's own. It went far enough to promt Ryotsu to marry her, until it was revealed last-minute that she was actually his cousin. Since then, the two behave with a sibling-like relationship when together. Despite that fact that Ryotsu was brought up in a wholly Japanese environment, just like Matoi, she actually appears to know more about culture and traditions which Ryotsu has either been unaware or ignorant of, to the embarrassment of other characters. Aside of their difficult moments, the two of them both love to participate in and attend cultural festivals, especially those which take place in Asakusa, the native hometown of Matoi. 'Lemon' ''Main article: Lemon Giboshi '' It is made clear in the manga that Lemon possesses much more knowledge of Japanese culture than Ryotsu does, despite the fact that she is only four years old. Ryotsu seems to feel belitted and short-tempered in times where she is able to prove him wrong in areas of Japanese culture, which range from writing kanji characters correctly (one of his major weaknesses) to properly tasting sushi dishes, and determining the correct species of seafood or fish used in the given dish. 'Haya' ''Main article: Haya Isowashi '' Since her debut in the manga, Ryotsu has shown ample interest in Haya and is more than willing to attempt to win her over, given her sheer intelligence in Japanese culture, archery and good looks. Her strictly conservative and intimidating father, though, has been his only obstacle which stops him from properly being able to access her numerous times. Ryotsu also ends up having to face competition from many other male colleagues in the HQ -including Bucho- due to her popularity, and always ends up having to find a way to be able to get together with her without their intrusion. He is always more than appreciative of being in Haya's presence when they are together. 'Komachi and Naoko' ''Main articles: Komachi Ono, Naoko Seisho Both Komachi and Naoko share strained relationships with Ryotsu in the anime series; the trio are almost always seen bickering and mocking one another over trivial matters. The duo often resort to insults that threaten his ego due to his obscene behaviour (in their perspectives), such as calling him a 'caveman' and the 'man least likely to ever marry'. Ryotsu would often go to great extents to prove them wrong by accepting challenges they make. There are instances, on the other hand, where the trio seem to get along amicably, although these cases are rare. 'Volvo' Main article: Saigou Volvo 'Sakonji' Main article: Ryuunosuke Sakonji '' '''Shacho' Main article: Gomez Tonda Ryotsu is apparently very aware of the way Shacho seems to more often than not be strayed away from his own work duties, through activities such as reading mens' magazines and visiting cabaret clubs. He has been successful in being able to trick Shacho into giving in to his scams, given his somewhat gullible persona, which happen sometimes whenever Ryotsu feels some form of disapproval over certain actions that he takes e.g. providing low pay or denying requests. It is always in the end, however, that Shacho finally realises -alongside Bucho- the true harmful consequences of Ryotsu's plans. Other characters 'Professor Ezaki' Main article: Korosuke Ezaki '' Ryotsu is always finding himself becoming guinea pig to technically all of Professor Ezaki's prototype inventions. While a significant number of his 'inventions' tend to be somewhat beneficial -for instance, reducing an adult to a child to re-live childhood for a limited time frame- there are always faults or limits which Ryotsu ends up suffering from, and experiences their consequences, often to the most destructive degree imaginable. 'Shiratori' ''Main article: Reiji Shiratori '' It could be said that Ryotsu is both grateful for and envious over the extremely wealthy Shiratori who makes occasional appearances in the series. During Shiratori's famous money-throwing scenes, Ryotsu can always be seen lunging forward to grab as many dollar notes as possible. At the same time, Ryotsu is also at odds with the boastful and overtly-confident nature of Shiratori, often responding by acting coldly or aggressively to him. Ryotsu would make whatever attempt possible to threaten his reputation or wealthy status by placing him in potentially dangerous or demeaning situations, which have been successful in the past, but also end up affecting him too to an equal degree. 'God' ''Main article: God Ryotsu shares a less-than-favourable relationship with God, chiefly due to the fact that he is always engaging himself in situations which are perceived as more sinful than helpful in the eyes of God himself. Ryotsu's harmful pranks, tricks and money-related scams are apparently all recorded by God (to his annoyance), and given 'punishment points'. Gallery Ryo One Piece Cameo.jpg|Kankichi Ryotsu's cameo in One Piece. In celebration of Kochikame's 30th anniversary. Trivia *His birthday is marked on 3rd March, which is a day known as Hinamatsuri (雛祭り) in Japan, alternatively called the 'Girls' Festival'. Ryotsu hates his birthday due to its implications on his persona, being a grown man, and is always a day fought with peril; an experience in his youth which appearently mocked the celebration resulted in a curse being brought upon him on a yearly basis which results in catastrophic events and mishaps that only frustrate and injure him further. *It is estimated that Ryotsu has appeared in every single chapter from the manga series since its initial debut in 1977, which already spans a total of nearly 1800 different storylines combined. The same is also probable for the anime series, which spanned a total of 373 episodes between 1996 to 2004. *Outside of the manga and anime series, Ryotsu has made numerous appearances and crossovers in other popular manga series and Weekly Shonen Jump specials. Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Kameari Kouen-Mae Police Box Category:Manga Characters Category:Anime Characters Category:Adult Characters Category:Patrol Officers Category:Ryotsu family characters